We tried to get an early start to the day because we had lots of bridges, locks and boat traffic to contend with today. We couldn't really start until after 8:15 AM because the bridges wouldn't open until then. It was a rainy day and we were concerned about the water level and how that would affect getting through the fixed bridge that was 19' 7". With our mast down we were 16' 6" and it the water level was high, it would be a tight squeeze and we might have to take our bimini down to have more clearance.

The lock master at our first lock said that they were dumping more water from the dams in the river because of the rains. We got to the dreaded bridge, waited for a tug to get out of the way and went for it. I stood on the bow to give Kevin a signal if it looked like the bridge was too low and we cleared with room to spare!

It was slow going for the rest of the day because we were mostly in narrow channels with lots of boat traffic. We traversed the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and the Calumet river and Cal-Sag Channels before we got to Lake Michigan. One of the purposes of the channels is to carry off Chicago's waste so as not to pollute Lake Michigan - the waste just flows south to pollute the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers and ends up in the Gulf of Mexico.

We encountered an interesting stretch along the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. For about a 2 mile stretch, there is an "electrical dispersal fish barrier system". This is an area where they have high voltage electricity in the water to kill of possible invasive fish from getting into Lake Michigan. It is prohibited that you dip any body parts in the water during this stretch of the canal:)

As we got closer to Lake Michigan there were many more bridges (one of which was 19" 1" and we tried to go through it but had to back up and ask for an opening:) It was fascinating to see all the different piles of material at different industrial plants. The piles were all different colors and different types of scrap materials.

Once we exited the channel into Lake Michigan we encountered heavier winds and 2-3 foot waves. Luckily we only had 4 miles to get to our marina in Hammond IN. We are tucked in between two large cassinos - our entertainment for tomorrow!